The secret

Here’s a secret to the hope chest. Each arm contains a secret compartment for small stuff like jewelry, money, etc.

The first photo is the finished product. The cap is resting next to the arm opening.

The second photo is the first step. I created a template, then used it to rout a deep round recess into the arm and carcase which have been permanently fastened together. The third photo shows the finished recess.

I do not have photos of the next steps. After routing the straight recess, I used a bearing guided 60 degree beveling bit to rout the cylindric recess into a cone.

Then, I drilled and tapped a piece of walnut to create a 1 1/2 inch diameter “nut”. Cut the nut round on the band saw with a circle cutting jig and then tapered it to 60 degrees, creating a plug to fit the recess in the arm. The plug is glued into place as shown in the first photo.

Then I cut threads on a 1 1/2 inch hardwood dowel and cut the threaded portion off about 1/2” past the thread. Drilled a mating hole in a piece of Hickory sapwood for contrast. Screwed the dowel into the arm nut, pushed the Hickory piece onto the dowel, aligned the grain nicely, and drew the outline of the arm onto it. Cut the Hickory (bolt head) to rough shape then glued it to the dowel and planed and sanded the bolt head to match the arm profile. Unscrewed it from the arm and proceeded with finishing.

So, why did I go to the trouble of creating the plug for the arm? Becasue that provided face grain to tap into. Tapping end grain leaves very weak threads.